So I recently (or not really recently at all, now) saw the Alex Colville exhibition with my dad at the AGO. I really enjoyed it. I remember going to the Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) with my dad as a kid and seeing Colville’s Horse and Train (see above right) and being captivated by it. Colville has an interesting style that I find calming in its own right. The exhibition was comprehensive, and I learned a lot about Colville the person as well. What I liked is that his wife was his muse, and he painted her extensively. You can almost feel how much he cared about her through his paintings. The exhibit featured paintings of her from her youth through to old age.

I also really liked his paintings of birds, particularly the painting Seven Crows (see above bottom). They look really dynamic, and it’s almost as if it’s painted from a bird’s perspective.

What do you think about Colville’s work? Do you think that his love for his wife is evident through his paintings?

Also alliteration. For those moments when you feel like sounding a bit pompous. Let’s review my 12 before 24 goals.

1. Regain some of my old swimming skills. I feel a bit incompetent in the pool nowadays, and also like I will probably drown if I have to swim more than a hundred metres or so.

So I swam fairly frequently in Tanzania due to going to the pool at the weekend kind of being a thing, but I haven’t really kept it up in England or Canada. Well, maybe I’ll figure it out later. I’ll just keep getting buff so hopefully that will help. Or does buffness sink?

Hogging all the buff

2. Keep up a daily skin/body regimen so that I don’t end up with terrible skin when I’m older (my mum says that she regrets not keeping hers up)

I realise now that I may have implied that mum’s skin is terrible, which it isn’t. I am a bad daughter. I’ve been making sure to clean my face with hot water before bed, and to moisturise before going out. I guess that’s pretty much it. And I do fancy exfoliation with this apricot jazz in the shower.

Tea is apparently good for your skin

3. Learn how to French braid

I genuinely tried this one. But I’m just not coordinated. I need to keep practising.

So bad at braids. It just looks wrong in the mirror and I freak out and take it all out.

5. Finish my thesis and defence on time (that goes without saying really)

It’s going OK, but I would really like to print out these transcripts. But I also don’t know whether printing out 400+ pages is ultimately going to be productive for me.

Thesis dog

7. Manage my money more prudently (I need to start some way other than the “in my head system”)

The in-my-head-system has been upgraded. Sort of. I’m just trying to spend no money on as many days as possible. So far, this is working fairly well, but my grant went down and my rent went up. But I’m moving back to my parents’ for at least the winter (January-April). So I’ll be able to save and pay some money off my credit card (thanks, grad school).

8. Work on getting better in MMA – groundwork and standing, and hopefully participate in a tournament of some sort (note: the goal can be met by scheduling participation even if it comes after my 24th birthday)

I’ve been going more and more frequently, and spending more time in jiu jitsu classes. I’m getting a bit better at grappling and rolling. My friend told me I need to be more aggressive so that’s what I’m trying. When I rolled with him again, he said that aspect was definitely showing improvement. YES.

Totally goes down like this. I of course can do flips. And am southpaw.

9. Learn to knit properly, rather than lumpy, too-short scarves. I want to make nice things!

I haven’t really had the time to pick up my stuff but I will at least look before Friday oh god oh god oh god.

10. Draw or paint a picture every day. I want to get better.

I really hope doodling counts. I am trying. I don’t know if I’m getting better. But I have to remember it’s just a hobby.

a connoisseur looking at my latest “draw something”

11. Make sushi again and don’t fail so miserably at it this time.

I did try to make sushi in Tanzania but it didn’t work out. I don’t want to talk about it.

12. Create a family album using all the photos my mum has saved up, plus more current ones I will take.

Going to try to maybe do it on Friday (my birthday) when I’m home. I know mum and dad have been sorting the photos. Maybe I’ll find more cute pics of child-me.

Tanzania is wonderful in some ways and awful in others – much like other places. But I find that living here encourages in many people a sort of oscillating feeling between I love it here and I hate it here with little room in between. There are times when things are going really slowly or poorly but you don’t feel like it matters, and you have an odd feeling of elation at the prospect that things here just tend to work out, and there’s no need to worry. But this feeling depends on your state when things are happening – if you’re in a rush, sick, or worried, then obviously you’re going to feel very anxious about it. But I feel that, as a rather relaxed person, that I thrive quite well here, though I have to work quite hard to get things done as I would like them to be. It, of course, shouldn’t be any other way, since the work I am doing is for my own thesis. A thesis, to me, says “look what I can do on my own – imagine me in a team.” One simply must work hard and excessively for a thesis.

Just keep your head up and everything works out

This week has been fairly interesting. I’ve been to the gym a lot, though I skipped today (sorry Daoda! And Mr. Tanzania – yes, we have Mr. Tanzania 1998 at our gym and he is intense and very helpful!). I did more interviews on Tuesday and the Mamas were very talkative, it was incredibly productive. Though only two of five were there – one is still ill and two others were at a funeral. I also made curry and papadums (can never spell that). I love papadums. They are heaven’s chips.

I spent most of today looking for accommodation since Caren is coming and the people who were in Rwanda need to come here (since they’re having major visa issues) – the apartment cannot fit six people, so I decided to look for something else. Luckily I still had Mama Mary’s number, and she’s set us up with a very charming garden cottage/apartment, which will be convenient for Caren and I, since it’s close to NIMR. It will be really nice to have another geographer here!

I have also been spending many spare moments in the café at Gold Crest, since the wifi is fairly decent, and the snacks are too (though a bit pricey by Tanzanian standards ~4000-10000tsh/$2.50-$6.21 ). I like it here since I can download papers quickly, the tables are quite comfortable, and I can have as many snacks as I’d like. Also you can watch the city go by out of the large windows, but interestingly, you can’t see the inside from the outside.

The only time I ever actually got a proper pot for tea – the other times they just gave me one cup for the same price (3000tsh/$1.85). Also, Black Forest Gateau (5000tsh/$3.10)

I have also been seeing how big I can make my hand/arm look using perspective tricks and my webcam and skeptical faces

Tomorrow I’m going on delivery again to hopefully capture better photos and all the mamas in one kitchen which I haven’t yet done for Kate (remember my invisible bbfbbffffff?), to schedule the remaining four kitchen interviews, and to attempt to create a recruitment framework for customer interviews. I still feel a bit like an imposter, but now that I have some data, a bit less so. I know I can do this, I just have to keep working hard. 🙂

Drawing of me, by Daniel

I always like to see drawings of myself – I’ve been party to some quite funny ones – my friend Daniel just sent me this one the other day, and I think it’s quite charming though I’m not certain what is on my cheek.

How I draw myself when I feel silly, and my sorely missed friend Sujata

Steph and I decided to go to Tilapia today, to swim and generally be super gluttonous. It was amazing, as always. And kinda pricey, though I only spent a whopping 38,000 tsh (23$). The entry for the pool is 10,000.

The lake hitting the rocks on the shore

Lake Victoria (fishing boats in the background)

We first went to look at the lake and feel the breeze, then we hung out at the pool for a few hours. We were a bit peckish, so we had fruit plates, which were amazing.

Fruit plate (5,000tsh/3$)

Compared with the plate at NIMR, which has watermelon, avocado, and popo and costs a fifth of the price, it was still pretty good due to its inclusion of mango (out of season now) and pineapple (freshly in season, but I gave mine to Steph since I don’t like the texture). I read the parts of last week’s paper I hadn’t read, and then drew some pictures (take that 12 before 24!). I went swimming too, but some people were jumping around and making splashes. They also weren’t paying attention when they jumped, so it felt a bit unsafe, so I got out and sunned myself for a bit.

And I put my hair like this because I’m a bit weird.

Below are the sketches for the laundry comic I drew, though I still have to ink it. These comics are about my experience doing laundry on my own (rather than having the housekeeper do it). I get really soaked and usually have to change after. Click on the pictures to see a larger version.

Laundry comics 1

Laundry comics 2

Laundry comics 3

We decided to eat supper, and knowing that Tanzanian service times are, well… relaxed, we ordered supper at about 4:45, since we’d had no lunch apart from the fruit plates. We decided instead of eating by the pool that we’d eat by the lake. It was a good choice. I decided to get two things, though it was a bit of a mistake considering how big the curry I ordered was. There were a few boats which passed us by, but the most interesting in some respects were the handmade (?) reed-canoes that some men were using. It’s amazing how they were lashed together with plastic-bag ropes. I was surprised at their water-tightness.

Sittin by the lake. Men in handmade reed canoes passing by.

Since I have to photograph literally every morsel of food that makes its way through my digestive system, here is what I had for dinner (with ratings!):

“Thai” spring rolls (5,000tsh/3$)

4/10: They were more like egg rolls, and were really bland. The filling was cabbage and carrots. The sauce was basically soy sauce with a tiny bit of something else put in. A better sauce would have improved this dish immensely.

Vegetable jalfrezi and garlic naan (15000tsh/9.30$, though the price on the menu is 10000tsh)

8/10: Lost points because of price discrepancy between menu and cost on the receipt. The garlic naan is pretty good, though I’d like it a mite thicker; they do have a tandoori oven at Tilapia, thankfully, though when I ordered the curry initially, they were going to give me paratha (chapati) instead, since the oven wasn’t working. Though, since things work a bit oddly here, the waitress came back to ask if I’d rather have the naan after all. And I did prefer it. The vegetable jalfrezi is well balanced, with what seems to be finely cut pieces of paneer throughout. It’s a tomato-based curry, and goes well with the garlicey naan. There’s enough for two people, or for several meals. You can get everything wrapped up so you can take it away.

With my supper I had a Tusker lager. It is much better than Kilimanjaro, which has a bit of an acrid aftertaste, reminding one of the big brewers in Canada/the US whose beers have different branding but all pretty much taste the same (Canadian, Blue, Budweiser, etc.).

We were the only ones sitting at the pool after supper, since it isn’t particularly well lit and dusk was coming upon us. Eventually, we decided to transfer to the upstairs pavilion, and shared a slice of chocolate cake (2500tsh1.50$, no picture). It reminded me of gluten-free desserts I’ve had, and was fairly dry. After I finished my beer, we left and took a taxi back to the apartment. He charged us 5000tsh, though I think it probably should have been 3000 or 4000, I didn’t feel like arguing. I have taken taxis to pick people up from the airport and twice at night, so my taxi expense may as well be non-existent.

Anyways, I feel pool-ey, so I’m going to leave it there and go and wash away all the pool chemicals.

Talking to Kate, my invisible bbbbffff, who is leaving today, to my utmost and greatest sadness in that I didn’t get to spend more time with her, I learned that she had obtained her amazing French braiding technique from one of her “24 before 24” goals. I realised I’d forgotten to make some goals on (our) birthday in November, and now that the year’s half done, I decided that I should at least do some goals. So I chose to do 12. Firstly because I’m a 12 year old in an adult body, and secondly because I only have half of the time left. So without further ado, 12 before 24:

1. Regain some of my old swimming skills. I feel a bit incompetent in the pool nowadays, and also like I will probably drown if I have to swim more than a hundred metres or so.

Approximation of how I swim

2. Keep up a daily skin/body regimen so that I don’t end up with terrible skin when I’m older (my mum says that she regrets not keeping hers up)

Gotta keep that uniform paleness

3. Learn how to French braid (sorry Kate, I’m stealing this one).

I am terrible at braids…

4. Bake my own bread rather than buying it. I bought yeast and then I never used it, but I am certain that I can bake bread without too much suffering.

So I can make more ridiculous cheese boards because I’m a total effing glutton

5. Finish my thesis and defence on time (that goes without saying really)

Better get to it

6. Find and get into a PhD program of my choosing

My application process. Looking at cat videos. Obvs.

7. Manage my money more prudently (I need to start some way other than the “in my head system”)

Face of prudence, i.e. “Don’t get upsold on the guacamole agaiin!”

8. Work on getting better in MMA – groundwork and standing, and hopefully participate in a tournament of some sort (note: the goal can be met by scheduling participation even if it comes after my 24th birthday)

Breaking plates comes into it (not)

9. Learn to knit properly, rather than lumpy, too-short scarves. I want to make nice things!

Hopefully knitting sweet Christmas sweaters

10. Draw or paint a picture every day. I want to get better.

Dance doesn’t count

11. Make sushi again and don’t fail so miserably at it this time.

Not necessarily this type.

12. Create a family album using all the photos my mum has saved up, plus more current ones I will take.